Happy 55th: John Coltrane, Giant Steps

55 years ago today, a jazz legend dropped a legendary jazz album, one which is part of the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry and is generally considered by music fans – yes, even those who don’t generally care for jazz – to be one of the greatest albums of the 20th century.

Giant Steps was Coltrane’s fifth album fronting his own band, but it was the first one that really put him on the map within the jazz community, possibly because his profile had been raised considerably when he signed to Atlantic Records. It probably also didn’t hurt that the material contained therein, which was produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and engineered by Tom Dowd, found Coltrane taking – forgive us – giant steps forward in his sound, offering his unique melodic phrasing as well as his delving into third-related chord movements, a.k.a. Coltrane changes.

We talked a bit about the album when we released it as one of last year’s Mono Monday selections, but if you still haven’t taken your initial foray into Giant Steps, you could pick a far worse day than the anniversary of its initial release…and, seriously, don’t let the fact that you’re not necessarily a jazz fan keep you from giving it a try. As we’ve said before, it’s reached a point now where it practically transcends the genre. It’s just a classic, period.